


I should have stayed a minute more

by suyari



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Ascension Compliant, Childhood, Gen, Growing up in Wartime, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-07 19:18:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14087862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suyari/pseuds/suyari
Summary: Despite not generally being good with wellanyone, Chuck can’t help but feel a sort of kinship with the kid. Nor can he completely wash away an odd mix of guilt and sadness that seem to root in his own ability to protect this kid from his own future.





	I should have stayed a minute more

**Author's Note:**

> This has been plaguing me for a while.
> 
> I would say I'm sorry, but we all know I'm not. I have no idea why I do this to myself, but I might as well share the pain with all of you.

Chuck’s always been the type of person languages came naturally to. Which wasn’t as much of a blessing as it sounded, because most people thought it meant he picked them up quick and easy and without stumbling anywhere when in reality what tended to happen was that he would pick up a few - not always key - words and phrases, his brain would sort of fold them in to other, similar or similarly based languages he knew bits and pieces of to form a sort of chain of knowledge that wasn’t always as helpful as it might appear. He’d _kill_ to be able to just pick one up out of thin air the way some pilots managed, but unfortunately for him his Dad wasn’t much of a linguist, even if Uncle Scott _was_ and what little Chuck had gathered had mostly come through exposure and a nearly excessive amount of travel. It meant he could get by in nearly any city they were currently stationed in, but anything too in depth could be dicey. 

So when he’s introduced to a tiny ‘Dome brat with too large eyes at the sight of him and his dad tells the kid’s Ranger parents he’ll show ‘em around and the kid can stay with Chuck, there’s a moment where he honestly can’t decide if cursing in any language is safe. His dad just smiles and waves, the kids parents express their gratitude and presumably tell the kid to behave and away they go just like that. Chuck and the kid stare at each other for a few minutes that should probably be way more awkward than they feel. But, even if ‘Dome brats are pretty much a given all over the Rim, it’s one thing to pass them by as a Ranger but it’s an entirely different story when the kid’s life mirrors Chuck’s own. Usually ‘Dome brats are the kids of J-Crew and LOCCENT and very rarely, K-SCI, but this kid and Chuck...they’re the super rare kind. They’re the product of the very people who go out and face down the monsters and beat the crap out of them to keep the rest of the world safe. This kid’s future can almost read as Chuck’s past, give or take a few years and Chuck being born and raised a bit before the war really kicked off and changed the world forever. But this kid, this kid is an entirely new breed of Ranger brat. This kid will have peers. This kid will only know the world as it is now. This kid will be _expected_ to become a Ranger, will probably start earlier than Chuck, all because he’s from Ranger stock, and the military is a weird mix of superstition and tradition no matter where in the world you are. 

Despite not generally being good with well _anyone_ , Chuck can’t help but feel a sort of kinship with the kid. Nor can he completely wash away an odd mix of guilt and sadness that seem to root in his own ability to protect this kid from his own future. 

He gets down on one knee, so they’ll be more level. The kid seems to be taken by surprise, and makes a quick but mostly awkward sort of bow, like he’s not entirely sure how they’re supposed to interact. Chuck laughs to ease the tension and holds out a hand. “Nice t’ meet y’ kid. I’m Chuck Hansen.” 

The kid peeks up at him, then straightens with a stubborn sort of resolve Chuck can definitely respect and takes his hand. “Jinhai Ou-Yang. Nice to meet you.” His English is tight and formal and he has an adorable accent to go along with all that tenacity and Chuck feels his smile settle into something a lot more natural. 

“Always a pleasure t’ meet another Ranger brat.” 

Jinhai’s face scrunches up and Chuck tries the Chinese term. That gets the kid’s attention and he nods eagerly. Chuck knows his parents only got assigned to Shaolin Rogue because her original pilots were _murdered_ by Kaiju Extremists and it’s a bit of an awkward shift for everyone. It’s the first time Pilots have been killed in such a way and it leaves a bad taste in everyone’s craw, but Shaolin Rogue is still fully operational and she needs pilots, so she gets pilots. 

Chuck’s always sort of wondered what it was like to be a second jockey team. To never get a Jaeger of your own, not truly. To have to deal with Jaeger ghosts in the drift tech. It sends shivers up and down his entire nervous system and Jinhai reaches out to pull the edge of his jacket closer to his hand. He smiles at him in thanks and reaches out to ruffle his dark hair. 

“Ever been inside one?” he asks, pointing up at Striker. 

Jinhai looks up and shakes his head. 

“Do you wanna?” 

And really, the way the kid goes sort of slack jaw but rocks up excitedly on his toes is worth any bitching the Marshal might bring up with him or Dad later on. He knows Dad won’t give a shit - Chuck rode along in Lucky once or twice when he was a kid and knows the ins and outs of Striker better than he knows his way around his own head. He offers the kid his hand only slightly surprised when Jinhai takes it and they walk together to the lift. Chuck usually takes the stairs - he likes to keep an eye on Striker, and the walk up is very informative - but he doesn’t think Jinhai will make it and really, they’d probably end up stopping more often than Chuck’s patience will allow. 

Jinhai’s eyes get wider and wider as they travel upward. They don’t dart around, trying to furtively drink every last bit of Striker in, they stay fixed and absorb the whole solid strength of the Jaeger before them. They get out at the top, lucky today’s arrival meant a Jaeger shift about so all the conn-pods are still attached. Chuck opens the mains and leans into the open doorway, so Jinhai can have his moment to drink it in. 

The kid’s hand clutches his suddenly and he stutters something out breathlessly. 

“Give it to me once more, yeah?” Chuck offers, trying to be encouraging. 

Jinhai makes an excited gesture toward the conn-pod interior. 

Chuck grins widely and swings their arms a bit, releasing the kid’s hand. “Yeah, go wild.” 

That’s all it takes before the kid disappears into the conn-pod in a manic dash. Laughing, Chuck boots her up, and ambles over to help Jinhai get into the cradle. He rocks back and forth a bit, too small to really even shift them - not that you’d know it from the way he beams up at Chuck. 

“Striker Eureka, confirm,” crackles a voice over the comms. 

Chuck reaches over and flips a switch. “Yeah, it’s just me, Dev. Showing Jinhai around.” 

“The Ou-Yang’s kid?” 

“Yeah. Promise we won’t take ‘er out for a joyride.” 

Laughter bubbles over the line. “Be sure not to. The Marshal will have both our hides.” 

“Don’t think we’re Drift Compatible, eh?”

“Actually, I think you got short changed, Hansen. They should have tried harder to find someone on your level. A Kindergartner co-pilot sounds right up your alley.” 

“What about you, Jinhai? Think we’re Drift Compatible?” 

Jinhai tilts his head and takes Chuck in and Chuck does his absolute best to hold still and let him without breaking any seriousness the whole moment may contain for the kid. The Ranger life is not a joke, and if nothing else Chuck would rather _someone_ asked the kid at least once in his life, before it inevitably became his assumed future occupation. He knows what it’s like to be young and impressionable and scared of what it means for his family to climb into a Jaeger and go missing for hours, knows what it’s like to wonder if they’ll ever come back again, how lonely and isolating it can be. Knows what it’s like for people to smile brightly and make assumptions about you because of where you come from, who your parents are. Knows what it’s like to be a child and be compared to an adult simply because you spring from their specially upheld gene pool. 

“Not old enough,” Jinhai finally decides. “Ask later.” 

Chuck laughs so hard he has to lean into the rigging. He climbs into Dad’s side and locks his feet in via sheer muscle memory. He’s not in his suit so he won’t really clamp in, but by now there’s no other response to settling his feet where they so rightly belong. With two bodies in the rigging, despite their disproportionate size, Chuck can flip open the sensor relay. The reflector panels burst to life and they can suddenly see out of Striker. Jinhai clings to the rigging where Chuck’s right arm usually locks in and tips forward, balancing on his toes so he can see out. 

“High up,” he says, but he’s excited, not scared. 

Chuck figures the kid’ll do just fine. “Only Mark V there is right now, Jinhai,” he says, leaning back into the rig. It’s a little awkward to be on Dad’s side, but his body is sinking into reflexive motion and he’s more or less primed to go even as he is. “Who knows what they’ll be like by the time you’re in my place.” 

Jinhai sighs and looks over at him. “Maybe there will be no more war?” 

His response sinks into Chuck like it’s tethered to a solid weight. He doesn’t remember when he started to think of this War as just life, just the way the world was. Doesn’t know when he so clearly gave up hope that it’d be over in his lifetime, no matter how much work he puts into it, how many Kaiju he kills. “Yeah,” he replies, clearing his throat so his words don’t rasp together quite so much. “That’s the spirit, Jinhai.” 

This kid has only ever know this war. Even if they somehow, miraculously won, Chuck has no idea what the world will be like after. Will there even be anything left? And if there is, what’ll it mean for kids like Jinhai, raised in Shatterdomes to take the place of fallen Rangers that came before them in a long line of Heroes sacrificed for the cause. Born into a world where Kaiju are a given and Jaegers a necessity. What would it mean for people like him trapped in the middle? Who remember the world the way it used to be, who grew up fending for themselves in a world at war. Only knowing rations and claxons and shelters and domes as a way of life and little else except how to try not to fall through the cracks. 

Jinhai shuffling his feet again brings his attention back to him. The kid’s looking at him expectantly. Chuck shifts and Jinhai mirrors his pose. He laughs softly to himself. Right now Kaiju are a reality, but there is so much hope in the next generation that they can still be a game, still be something inspiring. And that, that Chuck can understand.

They fight some imaginary Kaiju for a while, Jinhai excited but attentive to any small corrections Chuck makes. He’s bright and he absorbs everything Chuck manages to get across to him. Chuck can see it in his eyes and the way he adjusts, his assertive little nods and the drive with which he plays. He’s going to be alright, no matter what Chuck does or does not manage to do, no matter whether the war ends with Chuck or spills over into Jinhai’s generation. He definitely has the stuff. 

They power Striker down and seal up the conn-pod. Take the lift back down to the ground floor. Max has woken up from his nap and bounds over to them. Jinhai’s almost more excited to see the dog than he’d been to run amok in Striker’s conn-pod. Chuck pats him on the back and taps his thigh for Max to heel. It’s off to lunch with them, and then some training in the Kwoon. Jinhai charms Striker’s crew like an old pro and slips Max food under the table. In the Kwoon he follows Chuck’s instructions and has both remarkable grace and balance. They work through a few forms and Chuck shows him how to use a bo. By the time his parents come to collect him, they have the determined look he’s used to seeing on Rangers faces. 

Jinhai surprises both of his parents by giving Chuck the biggest, most confident and secure hug he’s had since he was a kid. He’s going to have to make sure he buries the way it makes his chest ache and the tears that spring to his eyes good and proper or else have to deal with Dad wanting to _talk_ after they next Drift. Chuck squeezes him back so he knows, so he’s _sure_ that it’s okay for Rangers to do. So he won’t have doubts, not like Chuck. 

Then he smiles and ruffles Jinhai’s hair and promises him they can hang out after he does his schoolwork tomorrow. Chuck watches Jinhai go with mixed emotions. He likes the kid, he really does. He’s got the kind of spirit that if taken care of properly will make him the kind of man people will look to one day. His Dad pats him on the back heartily and Chuck ignores that it’s meant to be in support, because they’ve already drifted twice today and the lull of the Ghost Drift is still in their blood. With a sniff, he drops down to scrub at Max’s face and kiss him on the nose. He’s going to keep an eye on Jinhai Ou-Yang he decides. Help him be the kind of hero everyone will aspire to someday. Even if it kills him. In the meantime, well, kids will be kids. And in Chuck’s professional opinion, that’s more than enough.


End file.
